Shanghai-based Micurx Pharmaceuticals Inc. is preparing to file an NDA for its lead antibacterial candidate, contezolid, with China's National Medical Products Administration after results of a pivotal phase III trial there showed the drug providing comparable clinical cure rates to linezolid for complicated skin and soft tissue infections (cSSTI). Reduced hematologic toxicity for the tablet-based antibiotic vs. linezolid was also seen, highlighting one of contezolid's key advantages. Read More
HONG KONG – South Korean biotech venture Spark Biopharma Inc., based in Seoul, has secured KRW25 billion (US$21 million) in series B funding to support new R&D efforts. The company plans to accelerate its development of small-molecule compound-based immuno-oncology therapeutics and treatments for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Read More
SUZHOU, China – The global biotech market continues to look promising and Chinese companies are taking notice as they lay the foundation for new advances. Read More
SUZHOU, China – A recent revision to China's legal infrastructure for the pharma industry represents a concrete step toward bolstering domestic biotech innovation, said stakeholders gathered at last weekend's China Biomed Innovation and Investment Conference. Read More
SUZHOU, China – The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) chief proposed to unleash China's rich data resources to advance big health care, after he steered a groundbreaking move last year to welcome pre-revenue biotech companies, a move that has become a hot topic for the industry at home and abroad. Read More
SUZHOU, China – The rare disease space continues to be an area of focus for across the sector worldwide, and China is no exception, with regulators rolling out long-awaited incentives and drugmakers viewing the field as a promising area to drive growth. Read More
Investigators at the University of the Witwatersrand have shown that the vaccine regimen used in the RV-144 "Thai" trial, the first trial to demonstrate any protective efficacy for an HIV vaccine, elicited a stronger immune response in a South African cohort than it had in the original Thai cohort. Read More
PERTH, Australia – Melbourne-based regenerative medicine company Cynata Therapeutics Ltd. is enjoying a bit of hot pursuit as Fujifilm Corp. exercised its license option to develop and commercialize Cynata's lead Cymerus mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) product, CYP-001, for graft-vs.-host disease (GVHD) at the same time that Cynata is an acquisition target by Dainippon Sumitomo. Read More